Summary

• While the most recent Zelda games might have been easy for you, particularly Echoes Of Wisdom, there's a good chunk of tough titles in the series.
• We would argue that Twilight Princess is when things start to get more challenging on our list. Especially with Cave of Shadows, the optional dungeon.
• Naturally, you'll find more difficult Zelda games as you go further back in time, to the first NES titles.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Legend of Zelda ser꧒ies has had a very long and storied history, with each game boasting its own unique mechanics and narrative beats. The series' biggest variable, however, is arguably the difficulty level of each entry.

Beginning on the NES, games were often more𓃲 difficult to cover for the fact that they were fairly short, due to technological limitations. You may have heard the term 'Nintendo hard', and it ain't kidding. As consoles have grown more advanced, and the gaming scene more accessible, the way that difficulty is implemented into games has changed drastically; so which Zelda games stick out for testing you as a true hero?

Updated on October 10, 2024, by Bobby Mills: The Zelda franchise continues to expand, with every new entry casually obliterating boundaries and revolutionizing genres. While this list already covers many of the popular mainline games, in the time since its last update, Nintendo dropped a massive bomb: Echoes of Wisdom, a brand spanking-new 2D adventure, in which you actually play as the titular princess. Amazing it took this long! Enjoy seeing where it slots into the ranking.

A few of the entries in this list detail specific dungeons or boss fights within theꦜ Zelda franchise. If you want every one of the (many, many) Ganon encounters to be a surprise, tread with caution!

26 Echoes Of Wisdom 🥀

Wake Up Impa, We're (Not) Going To Gamelon

Astonishingly, it has taken over 30 years for a Zelda game to star Zelda. It may sound obvious in hindsight – but barring a sidekick turn in Spirit Tracks (and a couple of legendary Phillips CDi titles that only the most persnickety of fans would dare to call canon), the powerful princess had yet to assume the spotlight until 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Echoes of Wisdom rolled around.

Being that Zelda relies on her brains rather than outright brawn, Echoes is one of the simplest ꦯtitles in the franchise in terms of raw difficulty. Conjuring up a swarm of Peahats, a Lynel, or a Wizzrobe or two will dispatch most foes and bosses with ease, all while you sit back and observe from a safe d𓄧istance.

Likewise, many puzzles and platforming challenges can be circumvented with canny use of water blocks, trampolines, and Platbooms. Echoes of Wisdom is an absolute hoot, to be su𝔍re, but don't go in expecting a challenge... unless you toggle on the optional Hero Mode, at which point you'll get your royal rump handed t🔯o you.

25 ෴ A Link Between Worlds

Breezier Than Its Older Cousin

The sequel to A Link to the Past we never knew we needed feels like a bit of a breeze at ti⛄mes, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Th😼e game has some tremendously offbeat dungeons and clever puzzles with the new wall-merging mechanic, but most enemies are on the weaker side.

The game loads you up with plenty of n⛎ew upgrades and hearts as it goes on, too. This gives you some great freedom to play around but means you're very rarely mor𝓰tally challenged. Perfect for long commutes.

24 Min▨ish Cap

A Di-Minished Difficulty Level

Traveling between bite-sized and life-sized worlds makes adventuring with our cute🍸 hero (and his chatty hat, years before Cappy stole the limelight) a blast. Minish Cap🅷 has a super limited amount of dungeons, and each one only feels a little harder than the last.

While some of the puzzles require a bit of critical thinking, most are a breeze. Minish Cap does have some stellar sidequests, though, and plenty of them to boot. And now it's easier to access than ever 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:with Nintendo Switch Online.

23 🌄 Wind Waker

Softer Visuals, Softer Difficulty

Zelda fans have definitely grown on this beloved classic, and it now stands as one of💦 the most popular games in the series. Criticism often arose around its 'childish' art style (which just highlights the insecurity of mid-2000s gamers), and worry surrounding the game's ꧒difficulty wasn't uncommon.

While not a cakewalk by any stretch, the linear combat and more simplistic dungeons might never let you see the game over screen, especially without Wind Waker HD's Hero Mode. Those sumptu𒁃ous aesthetics mak♛e it all worthwhile.

22 🥀 Link’♌s Crossbow Training

A Glorified Minigame Collection

This fun little side game came bundled with the Wii Zapper, a sort of classic Nintendo gun 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:accessory that ꩵworks gr🃏eat for FPS games. It seems that the intent was toꦑ make a game in which Link runs around shootinꦅg things with a crossbow easier/more immersive, but that might have backfired.

While most people wouldn’t call this game difficult by any means, some have been frustrated by the controls🤡. A Zelda game about shooting targets and enemies is an interesting idea, but not one that stuck around. And for good reason: its overly simplistic gameplay, and rampant repetitiveness, might be the cause.

21 Phantom Hourglass 🥂

Boating On The Go

Acting as a direct sequel to Wind Waꦜker, Phantom Hourglass was released as a DS game in 2007 with the same gorgeous art style. In it, you control a steamboat, the S.S. Linebeck, and plot journeys across the world using the touchscreen.

Despite its laidback difficulty, Phantom H🔥ourglass is home to one of the toughest Heart Pieces to collect in the entire series. The archery minigame demands a perfect score, and with the divide between the top and bottom screens, aiming is tough. If you're going for 100 percent, bump Phantom Hourglass up one or two spots on this list.

Being a handheld entry, the game is a bit on the easier side, with relatively harmless enemies but decently challenging dungeons. Theꦺ hardest aspect of the game is likely adjusting to ♏touch-based controls over the more traditional variety.

20 Spirit✨ Track🍸s

Getting Things Back On... Well, You Know

Where Phantom Hourglass was a sequel to Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks is a sequel to the former. So it's a Wind Waker... threequel, then. The game plays very similarly to Phantom Hourglass, if not identically given that it's �🎶�in the same engine, albeit with a train this time aboard land.

As such, its difficulty is fairly on par with its predecessor as well. This time around you might at least be more used to the touch controls, but✨ it also adds some new challenges by way of passengers and goods Link needs to transport. When did he become Hyrule's courier?

19 Hyrule Warri♏ors

Hours And Hours (And Hours) Of Fun

As a solid addition to the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Nintendo Warriors subgenre of games, Hyrule Warriors is a thrilling endeavour, but not really all thꦺat difficult. There are a few tricky missions in both the Adventure and Challenge modes, but ev🐽en the majority of those are easy if you know what you’re doing.

The game's main campaign tells a unique timeline-crossing story for the Zelda series, so it’s worth ex𝓡periencing, even if you likely won’t have a tough time with it. You can play on the hardest difficulty for a real challenge, but people who are used to these games will have little trouble. The actual tedium comes if you pur🅘sue the Adventure Maps, of which there is a gargantuan number and which will propel your playtime into the 300-hour region if you take the plunge.

18 Hyrule War🍌r♍iors: Age Of Calamity

A Calamitous Sequel, In A Good Way

After opening its series up to more developers, Ninten🌊do has found great success (for the most part; see the CDi games below). The most successful of these have ended up being Warriors games, one of the most acclaimed being Ag🐟e of Calamity, a prequel to Breath of the Wild. Its canonicity remains the subject of debate.

The difficulty of the game is a bit mixed. For seasoned players of the musou genre, it'll be a breeze and not too demanding. However, it is precisely nothing like your standard Zelda game, and may take some adjusting to u🎃nderstand if you skipped the ♚OG Hyrule Warriors.

17 ꩵ Breath Of The Wild 🍎

The Game That Defined Its Generation

The Switch's first Zelda game was 'wildly' (ahem) different from any other game we'd seen thus far, and had some interesting levels of challenge. By taking the series in a comple🐭tely different direction, some of the conventions of the series suffer.

Breath of the Wild's combat is more varied and complex than any other game, but enemy AI leaves a lot to be desired, meaning once you get decent armour there's little reason to engage with these mechanics. Foes will mostly just stand in place and accept a spear to the face, ragdolling helplessly with every blow. Being able to replenish your health with a nice home-cooked 🌼meal in the middle of combat also takes out some of the stakes of engaging a group of angry Bokoblins.